Rocky found a seat in a corner and then sat down calmly. His composure was as careless as if he had
never seen the disdainful looks on everyone's faces. Everyone in this room was here with the same
goal: to see Mia. Luckily though, Rocky didn't have to wait here for any longer than he wanted to. If he
told the butler who he was, the chief of the Lan Clan, Mia's grandfather, would come out and welcome
him in person. Mia's grandfather had once been an influential and mighty general, though he was
retired now. In fact, Mia would have waited outside the mansion for him if she had come to know of his
arrival.
However, since Rocky was a modest man, he didn't want to use any special privileges. After all, he was
only here to seek their cooperation and support. Keeping a low profile would help him see more and
hear more. He just sat there patiently and listened to these businessmen, who had also been waiting
there for quite some time. Getting impatient, they had started discussing their assets with each other.
Some of them were now showing off their resources to each other, and talking about the kind of
profitable deals they had done recently. They were all competing with each other even when there was
no competition.
As time went by, they soon lost interest in talking all high and mighty, and a short, awkward silence fell
in the room. By then, a shifty-eyed and bearded businessman clad in a blue robe and looking like a
miser, suddenly put his eyes on Rocky. Something in him irked and he said, "Hey, buddy, are you here
to see Miss Mia? Do you wish to do business with the Lan Clan as well? I never knew that the Lan Clan
is also interested in selling vegetables or steamed buns on the street. No, wait, you must be here to sell
some home-made cookies or pots, huh?"
His scoff successfully pulled everyone else's attention towards Rocky, and the entire hall burst into
laughter.
"A toad is wishing to eat swan meat! Forget the swan meat, brat... Can you even afford pork? Tell you
what, I'll do you a favor. I am interested in people with pretty faces like you. How about you come with
me? I promise you will eat swan meat every day!" a gorgeously dressed businesswoman cut in during
the laughter. She was sitting next to Rocky and when she laughed, her cumbersome body shook two
whole sofas on either side of her.
Rocky, however, just sat there quietly as if their words had never reached his ears.
Before they could say anything more to make fun of him, a man in brocaded clothes came in the door,
with two spirit manipulators behind him. He looked quite young and had a portly face. He swaggered
inside with authority as if he owned the place, fidgeting with two golden beads in his hand.
Everyone in the room immediately forgot about Rocky and all stood up to greet the new arrival.
"Greetings!"
"Nice to see you all here," the young man said arrogantly, sweeping the room with his eyes on his
forehead.
After greeting him, the businessmen immediately returned to their seats.
The man who had just come in looked around and saw that there was no seat available. His face
darkened and he gave a slight cough.
Immediately, those sharp-eyed businessmen also noticed that the room was quite occupied, but they
either began talking to their neighbors softly or picked up a cup to sip. None of them were reluctant to
give up their seat. No one knew exactly how long it would take Mia to show up, and it would be
tiresome for them to keep standing since they had always lived a comfortable life.
It didn't take long for the occupants to look in the same direction without prior consultation. Rocky was
sitting in the remotest corner of the room and seemed easy to be bullied.
He himself felt their intention without even lifting his eyes, but showed no signs of willing to give his
seat up. He just sat there calmly.
The young man and his two henchmen also shifted their gaze towards Rocky. From his humble
clothing, they deduced that he was a nobody and could be easily picked on. With no intentions of
offending the wealthy businessmen, the young man moved towards Rocky and stopped right in front of
him. "Hey, move your ass."
To his immense anger and disappointment, Rocky didn't even raise his head to look at him.
His totally unconcerned expression pissed the young man off, pushing him from being embarrassed to
being angry in a microsecond. He immediately gestured to the two spirit manipulators beside him, "Pull
him out. The guards of the Lan Clan shouldn't be so negligent in their duties. What's such a bastard
doing here?"
However, just as the two spirit manipulators tried to approach Rocky, a cold light flashed in the latter's
eyes, which froze them exactly where they were standing
"What are you waiting for? Drag him out of here!" their master urged from behind them when he saw
the two of them standing still instead of following his orders.
But the two had their own problems. It was not that they weren't trying to move, but that they couldn't
move at all.
"Are you two deaf?" Getting impatient, the young man cursed profusely and shoved the two spirit
manipulators aside. He was going to get rid of Rocky with his own hands.
He reached out a palm to grab Rocky's collar, but was gripped himself instead. Rocky twisted his hand
a little, and the young master let out a miserable scream like a pig being slaughtered and fell down on
the ground in a half-kneeling position.
An instant hush fell across the room as the onlookers realized the gravity of what had just happened.
A stunned expression adorned the businessmen's faces now. Rocky, in his humble clothing, must have
gone insane to anger the young man.
"He must be out of his mind! Who would willingly do such a stupid thing! The young man's father is a
minister of our empire's Commerce Department. As for this guy, he may be a lowly shop-keeper from
what he looks like. Why would he do such a thing?"
"For him to put all consequences at the back of his mind, he must be tired of living!"
"This young man is too bold. Is he a vicious person? Will he hurt us?"
The businessmen began whispering to each other at once.
Rocky, on the other hand, casually waved his hand, and the young man, who was still in his grip was
directly flung away towards the center of the room.
"How dare you! You're way out of your depth! I'm going to kill you! Do you even know who my father
is?" The young man was obviously not convinced to accept defeat. He rubbed his hands and cried out
in pain as he sat up on the floor.
"I just heard that your father was a minister of the Commerce Department. Is that so?" Rocky replied
with a sneer.
"As the first grade minister of our empire, he is a powerful man. I will let you know the consequences of
provoking me," the young man shouted in rage as he got up from the ground.
Right at that moment, Mia came in.
As soon as the young man saw her, he immediately began whining like a kindergarten kid, "Miss Mia,
you have come at just the right time. Someone is attacking me in your mansion. You must uphold
justice. Call the guards and arrest him at once."
"Oh, who is bold enough to attack you in my mansion?" Mia asked in surprise and then looked in the
direction where the young man was pointing. She then saw Rocky who was sitting calmly at the other
end of the room and smiling at her. This gave her yet another surprise, and a bigger one at that. What
was this guy doing in the Lan's mansion?
The businessmen in the room all straightened hastily their backs and moved in a corner to stay and
watch the fight.
However, to their immense surprise, Mia kicked the young man himself on the knee without a word.
The poor man was forced to kneel down in pain.
"Miss Mia, what are you doing?" He cried as he stared at the woman in confusion.
But the woman then respectfully knelt down on one knee and bowed to Rocky. "Prince Crimson, please
forgive me for not being there to welcome you at the gate!"
The onlookers in the room were now dumbstruck, as if a bomb had been strapped to their chest and
would explode if they moved. This company of awestruck people included the young man on the floor.
They couldn't believe their eyes or ears, but Mia's movements and mannerisms told them that she was
not joking. This young man, with his humble clothing and lonesome nature, was indeed the high and
mighty Prince Crimson of the Holy Dragon Empire.
"All of you, welcome Prince Crimson!" Mia coldly told those businessmen.
"Greetings! Your Royal Highness!" Every single person in the room hastily rose up on their feet and fell
to the ground like toads, not daring to make a sound.
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